Clayton Ike Bennett (born 1959) is an American businessman and

chairman The chairperson, also chairman, chairwoman or chair, is the presiding officer of an organized group such as a board, committee, or deliberative assembly. The person holding the office, who is typically elected or appointed by members of the group ...

of the Professional Basketball Club LLC, the ownership group of the

Oklahoma City Thunder The Oklahoma City Thunder are an American professional basketball team based in Oklahoma City. The Thunder compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team plays i ...

, an NBA franchise formerly known as the

Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (commonly known as the Seattle Sonics) were an American professional basketball team based in Seattle. The SuperSonics competed in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member club of the league's Western Confe ...

. Bennett is the chairman of Oklahoma City-based Dorchester Capital Corporation, as well as the chairman

emeritus ''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...

of the

board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...

of the Oklahoma Heritage Association and served as chairman of the Board of Regents of the

University of Oklahoma , mottoeng = "For the benefit of the Citizen and the State" , type = Public research university , established = , academic_affiliations = , endowment = $2.7billion (2021) , pr ...

from 2011–2019.

Early business career highlights

Bennett was one of the owners of the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Southwest Division. The team plays its home ...

in the mid-1990s, where one of his primary duties was to represent the team on the NBA

Board of Governors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit organi ...

. Immediately prior to the

2005–06 NBA season The 2005–06 NBA season was the 60th season of the National Basketball Association. The Miami Heat defeated the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals, four games to two to win their first NBA championship. Notable occurrences * A new league dres ...

, Bennett, along with

Aubrey McClendon Aubrey Kerr McClendon (July 14, 1959 – March 2, 2016) was an American businessman and the founder and chief executive officer of American Energy Partners, LP. He also co-founded Chesapeake Energy, serving as its CEO and chairman. He was an o ...

of Oklahoma City-based

Chesapeake Energy Chesapeake often refers to: *Chesapeake people, a Native American tribe also known as the Chesepian * The Chesapeake, a.k.a. Chesapeake Bay *Delmarva Peninsula, also known as the Chesapeake Peninsula Chesapeake may also refer to: Populated plac ...

Corporation,

Tom L. Ward Tom L. Ward is a prominent Oklahoma City businessman and philanthropist. He is currently the chairman and CEO oMach Resources a privately owned energy company in Oklahoma City, OK. He was the founder and former chairman and CEO oTapstone Energy ...

of Oklahoma City-based

SandRidge Energy SandRidge Energy, Inc. is a company engaged in hydrocarbon exploration in the Mid-Continent region of the United States. It is organized in Delaware and headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. As of December 31, 2021, the company had of oil eq ...

Corporation, and G. Jeffrey Records Jr. of Oklahoma City-based MidFirst Bank, partnered with the city of

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, and ...

and the state of

Oklahoma Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

in providing a revenue guarantee for the NBA's

New Orleans Hornets New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

. This resulted in the relocation of the Hornets to Oklahoma City for two seasons. The temporary relocation to Oklahoma City stemmed from damage to the

arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectator ...

and infrastructure in New Orleans caused by

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

Ownership of the Oklahoma City Thunder

Bennett is the chairman of the

-based Professional Basketball Club LLC (PBC), which owns the NBA's

. Formerly known as the

, the team was purchased from

Howard Schultz Howard D. Schultz (born July 19, 1953) is an American businessman and author who served as both chairman and CEO of Starbucks from 1986 to 2000, from 2008 to 2017, and as interim CEO since 2022. Schultz also owned the Seattle SuperSonics basket ...

in 2006 for approximately $350 million with Bennett promising a good-faith effort to keep the team in Seattle, provided there would be a public commitment to a new arena. After failing to get $500 million in public funding from local taxes to build a new suburban arena for the team, Bennett notified the NBA on November 2, 2007, of the ownership group's intent to move the team to Oklahoma City. On March 21, 2008, Bennett made known his plan to relocate the basketball franchise. On April 18, 2008, NBA owners gave approval for moving the franchise from Seattle for the 2008–2009 season pending the outcome of the city's case to uphold the lease and the former ownership group's lawsuit to rescind the purchase. On July 2, 2008, Bennett's ownership group reached a settlement agreement in the lawsuit filed by the city of Seattle, thus allowing the franchise to move from Seattle to Oklahoma City. On April 15, 2011, Bennett was named chairman of the NBA's relocation committee. On May 15, 2013, Bennett was a part of the board of governors that voted, 22–8, against a proposed relocation of the

Sacramento Kings The Sacramento Kings are an American professional basketball team based in Sacramento, California. The Kings compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Western Conference Pacific Division. The Kings are the oldest ...

to Seattle.

Personal life

Bennett is married to Louise Gaylord Bennett, the daughter of Oklahoma City

media mogul A media proprietor, media mogul or media tycoon refers to a entrepreneur who controls, through personal ownership or via a dominant position in any media-related company or enterprise, media consumed by many individuals. Those with significant co ...

Edward L. Gaylord Edward Lewis Gaylord (May 28, 1919April 27, 2003) was an American billionaire businessman, media mogul and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Gaylord Entertainment Company that included ''The Oklahoman'' newspaper, Oklahoma Publishing Co ...

. Bennett and Louise Gaylord were high school sweethearts, meeting when he was a sophomore and she was a freshman. They have three children. As of August 2021, Bennett's daughter-in law, Alex Bennett, entered an agreement with

Barstool Sports Barstool Sports is an American blog website and digital media company headquartered in New York City that produces content on sports and pop culture. Founded by David Portnoy in 2003 in Milton, Massachusetts, the company's two primary owners ...

to create digital content. Bennett's in-laws also have ties to professional sports ownership, as the Gaylords once owned a minority share of the Texas Rangers—a share which was later sold to future

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

President George W. Bush. Bennett is a Republican. Bennett is chairman of a task force identifying and seeking criminal justice reforms to alleviate jail overcrowding in Oklahoma City.

References

External links

Dorchester Capital

The Professional Basketball Club, LLC
NBA.com/Thunder

''New York Times'', October 25, 2008
Clayton Bennett, 2008 Oklahoman of the Year
from ''

Oklahoma Today ''Oklahoma Today'' is the official magazine of the State of Oklahoma, United States, published in cooperation with the Oklahoma Department of Tourism and Recreation. It provides its readers the best of the state's people, places, travel, culture, ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Bennett, Clay American chief executives of professional sports organizations American financiers Living people American investors American money managers American billionaires National Basketball Association executives Oklahoma City Thunder owners Businesspeople from Oklahoma City Women's National Basketball Association executives 1960 births Oklahoma Republicans Seattle SuperSonics owners San Antonio Spurs owners Gaylord family Seattle Storm owners